The invention relates to gel detergent compositions which pile-up on a surface, upon dispensing, to minimize the spreading of the gel to a substantially larger area.
Thickened or gel laundry products are preferred by many consumers, over either powder or liquid detergents. Gels provide the advantages of liquid detergents, but also can be used for pretreatment of fabrics, obviating the necessity for purchase of a separate pre-treatment product.
Gel detergents have been described. See, for instance, WO 99/06519 and WO 99/27065, Klier et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,538,662), GB 2 355 015, Lance-Gomez et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,695), Hawkins (U.S. Pat. No. 5,952,285), Akred et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,515,704), Farr et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,469).
Since gels are frequently also used as pretreaters, the desired property of gels is xe2x80x9cpile-up,xe2x80x9d i.e. the property of a gel to pile up on the surface of the fabric, rather than spreading to a substantially larger area. The gels that can pile up are less messy to use and provide better stain removal, since more detergent is concentrated on the desired area of fabric (e.g., the spot).
The present invention includes a gel detergent composition which piles up upon dispensing, the composition comprising:
(a) from about 10% to about 35%, by weight of the composition, of a surfactant,
(b) from about 0.1 to about 5%, by weight of the composition; of a non-neutralized fatty acid;
(c) from about 50 to about 85% of water;
(d) wherein the total of anionic surfactants selected from soap, linear alkyl benzene sulfonic acid, primary and secondary alkyl sulfates is more than 50% of total surfactant level.
Surprisingly, it has been discovered, as part of the present invention, that by employing non-neutralized fatty acid in a specific amount, depending on the total surfactant level, a shear-thinning, lamellar gel, with the desired pouring viscosity, can be attained at total surfactant level less than or equal to 35%, preferably less than 25%, most preferably less than 20%. Furthermore, it has been discovered that when the total level of anionic surfactants selected from soap, linear alkyl benzene sulfonic acid, primary and secondary alkyl sulfates is more than 50% of total surfactant level, gel wit the desired pile-up proiperty may be obtained.
The inventive product offers an advantage of laundry pre-treater and a detergent in a single product.